


Rainbow Path

by tatersalad5001



Series: Duel World (GX) [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Duel Links, Duel Monsters, Duelling, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Post-Graduation, Yami no Game | Shadow Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-01 15:10:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10924413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatersalad5001/pseuds/tatersalad5001
Summary: KaibaCorp has set up a virtual world known as Duel World, where duelists of all ages and any experience can compete to see who can win the King of Games title. A new generation of duelists have entered Duel World, and Jesse Anderson finds himself meeting up with Chazz Princeton for the first time since graduation. Things take a turn for the worse, however, when an event takes over Duel World. This event ushers in Shadow Duels where duelists' souls our on the line. It's up to Chazz and Jesse to win this event and keep everyone safe.





	Rainbow Path

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so. There's a few things I wanted to accomplish here. I really want GX characters in Duel Links because I want to just play as them all the time and all. Every time Bakura's about to duel he says it'll be a Shadow Game, but if it was, then I'm pretty sure my game's Yugi would've lost his soul at least four times now, so he's obviously lying. I also have ulterior motives for wanting Chazz and Jesse to hang out, so I figured I should actually write a decent fanfic combining all these things and make want I want happen to happen. So this is incredibly self-indulgent, I'm pretty sure no one's quite in character, but this is all just for fun, so it doesn't really matter. This is a lot longer than I figured it'd be, though. In any case, here we are!
> 
> Also, I just learned yesterday that until a couple hours ago, it was Jesse's birthday! I've been working on this for about two months now, so I definitely didn't plan to finish this and post it right around Jesse's birthday, it just worked out that way. So happy belated birthday, Jesse, I hope you're having a good time out there somewhere.

“Well, I reckon KaibaCorp’s outdone themselves this time. This virtual world sure is something.”

Jesse Anderson stepped through the Gate, shielding his eyes from the sun. Duel World was a lot brighter than he’d imagined when he heard about this place. He’d never been in a virtual world before, so he had had no idea what to expect, but it was amazing how real it all felt.

Ruby Carbuncle appeared on his left shoulder and purred. Of course, his whole family was here too. That’s why he came after all; to duel. The second Jesse first heard the news about Duel World, both he and his monsters were on board, 100%. They entered together as soon as they got the chance. It’d been awhile since the Crystal Beasts had faced a tough duel, and who knew, maybe he’d even find some old friends here.

“Whaddya say, Ruby?” Jesse asked, scratching Ruby between the ears. “You ready to duel?”

Receiving an affirmative trill from Ruby, Jesse smiled and took a good around the area. Sure, he’d gotten to Duel World the first chance he could, but plenty of duelists made it here before him. This place was packed with duelists of all kinds, from amateurs to pros and veterans.

This was all just a small part of the virtual world. Right now they were secluded in a part of the world meant for receiving duelists at the Gate (as well as the Duel School, but three years of school was more than enough for him). Signs posted around indicated that further east was a duel arena reserved for competitive and ranked dueling. Further east were a few shops to buy cards from, but right now Jesse was interested in some action.

Following the signs (and with some help from Ruby), Jesse soon reached the PVP Arena. He was currently registered at the lowest rank all new duelists started at, Rookie Rank 1. But he had his family by his side. His rank would rise soon enough.

And rise it did. Jesse was as much of a natural in the virtual world as he was in the real one. With a few short duels he’d already gone from the Rookies to the Bronze duelists. It couldn’t be long now before reaching that coveted King of Games ranking.

All that dueling had a downside, though.

“I’m beat.” Jesse yawned and glanced at Ruby. “How about we call it a day, pal? We can pick up where we left off in the morning.”

Ruby would’ve agreed if the poor thing were awake. It was curled up around his neck, fast asleep.

“Yeah, I’m ready to hit the hay, too,” Jesse said to himself. He walked out of the PVP Arena and towards the gate, ready to leave.

Something, however, caught his eye and stopped him in his tracks.

“Well, if it ain’t Chazz Princeton!” He fought through a crowd headed for the stores and managed to reach the duelist in question. “How ya been, Chazz?”

“Can’t say I’m surprised to see you here, Anderson,” Chazz replied. As he went on, a smirk formed onto his face. “The Chazz is doing great, as always. Those dweebs in the pro leagues were just too easy to beat, so I figured here I might find an actual challenge.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from The Chazz.” Jesse paused to look around for a second, before frowning. “Say, I hate to sound disappointed or somethin’, but I was hoping to find Jay here. Have you seen him?”

Chazz snorted. “As if. No one’s seen that slacker since graduation. Barely even heard from the guy. I got a postcard from him once, for my birthday, but it was late by about five months. He’s even more of a slacker than ever.”

“Huh.” Jesse scratched his cheek. “Well, he can’t resist a good duel. I hope he turns up soon.”

“You and me both,” Chazz agreed. “I still need to chew him out about the postcard thing. But enough about the slacker.” He waved his hand, as if pushing Jaden out of his thoughts. “I’m honestly surprised. You’re the first face to show up from Duel Academy. I figured all those dorks would be all over this place.”

“Really? That’s a darn shame,” Jesse sighed. He let out a whistle, its pitch dropping with his hopes. “It would’ve been nice to catch up with everyone. No offense, Chazz, but I wasn’t exactly looking forward much to seeing you again.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?!” Chazz demanded. “We've known each other longer than you've known the others. We both went to North Academy. I was the top duelist at Duel Academy, I risked my life to save yours, I’m practically a celebrity now! You should at least be begging for my autograph.”

“We weren’t exactly great friends,” Jesse reminded him quietly. “We barely talked most of the time.”

“You’re just like Jaden. Friendship this, friendship that,” Chazz spat. “If that’s all you care about, why’d you even bother to say hi? Go find one of your other little buddies, like Jim or Axel or Atticus or something.”

It took Jesse a second to even remember who Atticus was. Curse his poor memory. “Aw, come on, Chazz! It doesn’t have to be like that!” He slung an arm around Chazz’s shoulders. Chazz didn’t look any happier, but made no move to stop him. “Our other friends aren’t here. This is the perfect chance for us to get closer! Dueling and bonding and all that fun stuff. Whaddya say?”

“Fine, fine,” Chazz groaned. “Whatever. I was getting bored of dealing with all these Duel World losers anyway.”

“Great!” Jesse clapped Chazz on the back, making him jump. “How about a duel, then? Right here, right now?”

“Stop touching me,” Chazz insisted. “And no. Sorry, Anderson, but The Chazz is a pro now. I only do ranked duels. You’re ranked way too low to duel me.”

Jesses’ face went blank. “I just became a Bronze duelist, though. That’s good, ain’t it?”

Chazz laughed. “Not even close, dweeb! You’re looking at a Gold Duelist here. Pretty soon, I’ll make it to King of Games rank! Well, at least until they reset the rankings.”

“Guess I’ve got some work to do, then,” Jesse decided. “A good friendship always starts with a good duel.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Chazz sighed. “But if you’re gonna keep this up, we might as well start with going to the Card Shop. There’s a new set of booster packs in stock and I’ve been looking to upgrade my deck. Word is they’ve got Monster Reincarnation in there.”

“Sure thing, buddy!” Jesse beamed at him. “You’ll have to lead the way to that shop, though.”

“Don’t call me that,” Chazz told him. “You already sounded too much like Jaden without the nicknames. Card Shop’s this way.”

* * *

“Hey, Anderson, any idea who turned out all the lights?”

“Huh?” Jesse looked up into the sky. It was dark and stormy, with red sparks running through the air. In the eye of the storm, a building floated in the air. Many of the children who had been hanging around Duel World had left in fear already– and some adults, too. Duel World held a noticeable tension that had been absent before.

Chazz rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you just noticed.”

“I was looking down at my cards, not up.” Jesse frowned, continuing to stare up until something clicked. “I think I heard about this. There was some sign hanging around the gate sayin’ something about some event coming up. ‘The Duel Board of Destiny’ I think, or something like that. Someone named Bakura’s supposed to be here and we get rare cards if we can beat 'em.”

“That definitely doesn’t explain this, though,” Chazz mused. “What’s with the freaky weather? It can’t be just some lame event. It almost looks like one of those Shadow Duels.”

“Shadow Duels?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah,” Chazz confirmed. “What, don’t tell me you– oh right, you weren’t there, that’s right.”

“Wow, Chazz, glad to see you remember me so well.”

“Hey, look, in my defense, Jaden was there, and the two of you are pretty much the same person,” Chazz pointed out. He groaned. “Just listen, okay? The Shadow Duels started coming up in our first year at Duel Academy. We had to duel in a bunch of them to protect the Sacred Beast cards. Shadow Duels aren’t just about life points; if you lose, you lose more than just your pride. It's like the duels we had in the Spirit World, but worse. It sucks. Believe me, I know. We all lost in those except Jaden.”

“Like the Spirit World, huh?” Jesse asked. “Where everyone thought that if you lost, then you'd...? You're telling me ya'll had other duels like that?”

“We did, but ugh, that doesn’t matter now!” Chazz pointed up at the sky. “Whatever’s going on here, this isn’t safe. People’s souls could be on the line. There’s no way they should allow this.”

“Gotta say, though, it definitely brings something different into the game,” Jesse admitted.

Chazz glared at him.

“But you’re right, this definitely ain’t safe,” he mumbled hastily. “Hopefully it’s just some special effects or something.”

“Probably not, but you can think whatever you want,” Chazz told him. “So what do we do in this event, anyway?”

“Dueling, mostly. From the sounds of it, we duel other duelists and we get dice if we win. Then we can duel the Bakura fellow if we have a certain number of dice and win rare cards and such from 'em.”

“Alright, then.” Chazz popped the collar of his shirt. “Duel World better get ready, because The Chazz is here to turn things around.”

“And if you need help, you know who to ask!” Jesse flashed him a grin.

“The Chazz doesn’t need help,” Chazz insisted. “I could take on this loser in my sleep.”

“Sure thing, Chazz, but don’t forget to actually duel while you’re dreaming.”

Chazz groaned and shoved his face into his hands, making Jesse laugh. “You’re just like him!!”

* * *

Jesse spent the next few days dueling and collecting dice. With less duelists around, it was difficult, but with his Crystal Beasts he could do anything. He and Chazz saw little of each other; they only got together to compare dice and to plan. It was just enough to know things were going well for both of them, and that they were both okay. Jesse didn’t want to lose a friend, and Chazz…well, he probably just wanted someone around to tell about how great he was.

(Duelists couldn’t get dice from ranked duels, unfortunately, so Jesse would have to climb the ranks another time.)

Things were going smoothly. Between the two of them, they each had about fifty dice. Chazz had first dibs on the duel with Bakura, and whether he won or lost, Jesse would duel after that. He was interested in those rare cards, but more than anything he wanted a good duel. That’s why he was here in the first place. Before anyone dueled, however, Chazz and Jesse were going to meet up next to the Duel School, which was right next to the Gate, where Bakura was waiting.

It took Jesse awhile to find the school; he’d just finished dueling on the other side of Duel World, and it was a long walk back. There were plenty of ways to get lost on the way. He figured he had to be at least five minutes late, but something was off. Chazz wasn’t there. Chazz definitely wasn’t one to get lost, and Chazz hadn’t been late to any other meeting they’d had in Duel World. Things had been too on edge with the current event for Chazz to let himself not show up to anything on time.

Well, Jesse had gotten there late. Maybe Chazz had just gotten impatient and went off to duel Bakura before he got here. It wouldn’t surprise Jesse at all. He’d just have to check the gate then.

With that plan in mind, Jesse headed off to the gate.

The sight he was greeted with was not pleasant.

He recognized much of what he saw just a few feet in front of the gate. He recognized the black hair, styled and spiked. He recognized the black jacket around those thin, boney shoulders. He recognized the duel disk, though the cards in it less so. He recognized Chazz Princeton. He did not recognize Chazz Princeton in this state. No matter the situation, Chazz held a lot of pride, and refused to give up. Now, in front of him, Chazz was sprawled out as if he had been tossed here, and Jesse had never seen him look so defeated. Chazz was always so…full of life, too. Even as a Duel Ghoul, he was persistent and never seemed to stop. Now, in front of him, Chazz was completely devoid of life. He must’ve been unconscious. Even his duel spirits were absent and silent, which was even rarer. Seeing Chazz like this was completely different from every other experience Jesse had had with him. This was definitely not a good sign.

“Chazz??” Once his feet started working again, Jesse ran to him. He knelt down and aggressively shook Chazz’s shoulder. Chazz gave no response. Jesse tried a few more times to get him to do…something, but it was pointless. He finally gave up with a huff and stood up, glaring at the gate.

“Guess it’s up to me, then,” he mumbled.

 _Sorry, Chazz_ , Jesse thought as he entered the gate.  _If I hadn't been late, I coulda done something. Why didn't I take this more seriously? You told me how dangerous this all could be, and all I cared about was duels and rare cards. No point in beating myself up over it now, though._ With a shake of his head, he pulled himself out of his thoughts. He couldn't turn back now. It didn't matter whether it was his fault or not. It didn't matter whether he wanted to duel or not. None of it mattered at this point, because this event just got personal. Jesse Anderson had a friend to save.

"Well, it appears I have another guest." A voice called out to Jesse once he was inside the gate, breaking him out of his thoughts, but there was no one to be seen. "I do hope you have enough dice to challenge me. I don't appreciate having my time wasted." Once the voice was finished, a figure walked out from the shadows. White hair, a striped shirt, that Millennium Ring...this had to be Bakura.

Jesse's hand clenched into a fist. "What did you do to Chazz?" he demanded.

"Hmm." Bakura brought a hand up to his chin and tapped it. "Chazz, Chazz...ah, now I remember," he said.

A smile crept onto Bakura's face, but Jesse only felt a chill in his body as he saw this display. Bakura reached into a back pocket. When his hand was visible again, there was a card carelessly tucked between his index and middle finger. It appeared to be a Monster Card. Jesse was familiar enough with this card to recognize it at least: one of Chazz's signature cards, Ojama Yellow. Ojama Yellow was just as silent as the rest of Chazz's Duel Monsters, its spirit nowhere to be seen. 

"His soul is trapped in this card. That's the price of this Shadow Duel; if you lose the duel, you lose your soul," Bakura went on. "I'm sure you can figure out how his duel went."

"Why, you..." Jesse muttered.

Bakura laughed. "He was so easy to beat, I nearly forgot about him. But since the two of you seem to be friends, I'll make you a deal and add a condition to our Shadow Duel. I'll return his soul to his body if you can beat me. If you lose, you'll suffer the same fate as him."

"You've got yourself a deal." Jesse closed his eyes, and for a moment, allowed memories of his time at the main branch of Duel Academy to flood his mind. "My friends risked everything to save me when I needed them. It's my turn to return the favor."

Opening his eyes, Jesse shoved the necessary dice into Bakura's hand. After the transaction was completed, the two shuffled their decks and placed them into their Duel Disks. The Duel Disks lit up to display each duelist's Life Points, and they both drew their starting hands. With that, it was time to duel.

"Before we begin, Duel World lets us use different Skills, so I'm going to use mine," Jesse said. "My Skill allows me to start the duel with the Field Spell Ancient City: Rainbow Ruins activated." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the card in question, which was separate from his main deck. The Field Spell activated, creating an illusion of a city lit up with rainbows.

"I suppose this is a good time to bring up my own skill, then," Bakura decided. "The Destiny Board of Doom also activates at the beginning of the duel. I get to start off with Dark Necrofear in my Graveyard." Bakura took no action; Jesse assumed that he must've already placed the card in the Graveyard. "As long as Dark Necrofear remains in my Graveyard, the Destiny Board will spell out a word. You might recognize it as the word 'final' -- others instead see the word 'death'. One letter is added at the end of each of your turns. If the Destiny Board finishes spelling out the word, you automatically lose the duel."

Jesses' eyes opened wide. "Automatically!? So..." He paused to count on his fingers, mumbling letters under his breath, before speaking up again. "I only have five turns to defeat you?"

Bakura grinned. "That's right. Now you see how futile your efforts are. But I'll give you a fighting chance. No one can attack during the first turn, making it that much harder if you start off. So instead, I'll take the first turn. And speak of the devil..." He glanced over his starting hand. "It's my move."

* * *

" _My turn! I draw!" As he drew the top card from his deck, Jesse looked nervously up at the Destiny Board, hanging above Bakura's head. This was Jesse's fifth turn since the duel started. Four of his turns had passed, so the Destiny Board now had four letters: F I N A. This was his last turn, so he had to make it count. It all depended on this last draw. Jesse took a deep breath and look down at the card he drew._ Perfect!

_"From my hand, I summon Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise!" Jesse announced, placing the card in a monster zone. Emerald Tortoise appeared on the field in front of him. Even though his friend was in attack mode, he still had his head tucked into his shell._

_Bakura cast the monster a suspicious look. "600 Attack Points?  It looks like your luck just ran out."_

_"Well, look again, because with him out on the field, I can now activate my Trap!" Jesse retorted. "I activate Rainbow Gravity!" He pressed a button on his duel disk, and the already set card flipped on the field and activated. "Thanks to this card, if I have seven different Crystal Beasts on my field or in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon Rainbow Dragon from my deck or Graveyard. And Emerald Tortoise makes seven!" And with Rainbow Gravity's effect, it didn't matter that most of them were in the Graveyard, more due to card effects than anything. A card in the middle of Jesse's deck shifted to be more easily grabbed. He took it and slammed it in the middle of his duel disk's Monster Zone. "Come on out, Rainbow Dragon!"_

_With a roar, the multi-colored dragon emerged onto the field. There it was, the very heart and soul of the Crystal Beast deck. It had gotten Jesse out of more sticky situations than he could count, and now Rainbow Dragon would be able to help him out once more._

_"Impressive," Bakura conceded. "But I'm afraid your math's off. I still have my Malice Doll of Demise on my field, equipped with the Sword of Dark Rites, and the only Monsters you have on yours are your Rainbow Dragon and that turtle. I still have 4000 Life Points. Even if you attack with both your monsters, that still leaves me with over 1000 life points. You can't summon any more Monsters. This duel is over."_

_"This duel ain't over 'til the last card's played!" Jesse pushed another button on his duel disk, and another set card flipped over and activated. "I activate another Trap: Crystal Raigeki! If I have a Crystal Beast in my Spell and Trap zone, I can send it to the Graveyard to destroy a card on your field!" He still had Amethyst Cat on the field as a Continuous Spell; Jesse pulled the card out of the duel disk and sent it to the Graveyard. "Sorry, Amethyst. But with your help, I can destroy Malice Doll of Demise!"_

_Scowling, Bakura placed the card into the Graveyard. Malice Doll of Demise's destruction destroyed Sword of Dark Rites, so the Equip Spell was sent to the Graveyard as well. His field was empty, and he was wide open to attack._

_"Battle!" Jesse stretched his arm out forward, pointing at his opponent's monster. "Rainbow Dragon, attack his Life Points directly! Rainbow Refraction!"_

_Letting out another roar, Rainbow Dragon attacked. Bakura had no moves left to take, and nothing left to defend himself with. He took the attack straight on, and his Life Points reduced to zero with one hit. The duel was over._

_"I must say, well done." Bakura clapped as all the cards on their respective fields faded. "You managed to pull it off after all. Well, a deal's a deal. I'll restore your friend's soul to him." He tossed a card to Jesse. Jesse caught it between two fingers and looked at it. Ojama Yellow. "On that note, it looks like my event's ended, so I'll be taking my leave now. You ought to do the same."_

The last turn of his duel with Bakura replayed in Jesse's mind as he exited the gate. It'd been a close duel. Bakura really had a good deck, or at least, Jesse hadn't had the best luck with draws; he hadn't been able to attack until that last turn, and had to rely on spells and traps most of the duel. Maybe the stress of only having five turns to win got to him. It was hard to say, but whatever it was, he'd been really lucky to pull off that win in the end.

...No, it wasn't luck. It was his deck, his cards, his friends. They responded to his wishes to win, to save Chazz, to stop whatever was happening in Duel World. 

He cast a glance down at the card in his hand. Ojama Yellow, one of Chazz's signature monsters. Chazz sure acted like he didn't care for the Ojama spirits, but it was no secret that Chazz had been running an Ojama deck since before Jesse had shown up at Duel Academy's main branch. They weren't the only trick in Chazz's deck, but he wouldn't keep them around if he didn't like them, didn't want them. Jesse could feel the strength of that bond just holding the card. 

One thing he couldn't feel in the card was Chazz himself. Chazz's soul must've been returned to him; Bakura didn't go back on his word. Well, if there was one thing Jesse could do at this point, he could give Chazz back his card at least.

Jesse was now back outside, and he could see his hypothesis was correct. Chazz had moved since Jesse entered the gate. Right now, Chazz was by the water fountain, using it to prop himself up into a sitting position. His attention didn't look like it was directed towards the gate, nor towards anything around him. What could be on his mind? There were...way too many possibilities to be able to guess.

"Hey, Chazz." Jesse spoke softly, not wanting to startle him too badly. Carefully, he sat down and held Ojama Yellow out to him. "I think this fella here is yours."

Chazz's eyes flickered over to Jesse for a moment, then away again to whatever he'd been staring at before. "Thanks." Without another word, he snatched the card out of Jesse's hand.

"...Are you okay?" Jesse asked. He frowned, looking him up and down. It wasn't just how absent Chazz seemed to be at the moment. Chazz had lost his soul, Jesse had seen his lifeless body. That couldn't have been a pleasant experience. There was no way he was just okay.

Chazz snorted. "'Course I am, dweeb. It's not like I've never had a Shadow Duel or anything." Barely looking at the card in his hand, Chazz took out his deck and shuffled Ojama Yellow into it. "So I take it you won, then."

"Sure looks like it." The dark clouds over Duel World were fading, giving way to sunlight and a few white, wispy clouds. It cast the world in a brighter, cheerier light, and people were returning to Duel World, happy and smiling. But all Jesse could do was frown. "But just barely. If my cards hadn't responded to me in that last turn, I would've lost it all. Jaden wouldn't've even broken a sweat. He would've won no problem."

...That's right, wasn't it? The words fell out of Jesse's mouth without him even realizing, but as soon as he heard them he knew it was true. Jaden was the best duelist he knew. Jaden always made it out okay in the end. He always had some trick or strategy up his sleeve, his deck was always evolving, and whenever he was pushed into a corner, it just made him stronger. If Jaden had been here, there wouldn't have even been any doubt of whether they could win. They could have, and would have. But Jaden was off who knows where, and everyone here was stuck with Jesse instead.

Everyone always joked about it, didn't they? That Jaden and Jesse might as well be the same person. Jesse never minded - - he could see where it came from. They had similar personalities, the same ability to see duel spirits, heck, they could practically finish each other's sentences. They viewed their cards the same way, their duels the same way, so shouldn't they be just as good as the other at dueling?  Should Jesse be just as good as Jaden? Why wasn't he? 

He'd never beaten Jaden in a duel. Even when he and Jaden teamed up in their duels, Jesse wound up left behind in the dust. Jaden always rose up to the challenge, but had Jeses ever proven he could do the same? He'd call this win a fluke, a matter of luck, but that was a serious insult to his cards. Even back with that whole situation with Yubel--

"Whoa, Anderson, what the heck happened?" Chazz was gripping him hard by the shoulder, almost painfully. Jesse came back to himself, bit by bit, and realized he was breathing pretty heavily. That was a good question, actually, what in the world did happen?

"Sorry 'bout that," Jesse apologized as soon as he found his voice. This was about Chazz, not him, and he needed to get back to that as soon as possible. "I guess one thought just lead to another. I just...never realized I never beat Jay in a duel before. And...this woulda gone much better with him here instead of me, ya know?"

"Geez, this is about him, huh? That guy's more trouble than he's worth," Chazz responded. He relaxed his hand on Jesse's shoulder, but maintained a firm grip. "Forget about that slacker."

Jesse stared up at him.

"I'm serious. Forget about him. It doesn't matter what would've happen if he was here. You know why? We were in trouble, and he didn't even bother to show up. And we didn't need him anyway. You beat that weirdo and you didn't need anyone's help to do it, not Jaden or anyone else." Chazz was glaring at him now, but...probably not unkindly. "Look, don't sell yourself short, okay? When we first met you, Aster Phoenix knew all about you. He's not just any pro duelist, you know. And he said Maximillion Pegasus considered you to be the fifth best duelist he knew. That guy made the game, he knows everyone that's anyone when it comes to dueling, and he said you're the  _fifth best_ duelist he  _knows_. And yeah, I know everyone jokes that you're a lot like Jaden, you both think alike, you both act alike. But you're not Jaden. That slacker's in a league in his own when it comes to how ridiculous he is. You're not Jaden and no one expects you to be. Even if they did, it doesn't matter how you stack up against him, or anything like that. You're a good duelist, Anderson, and you don't get to go off like you aren't."

It'd been awhile since Jesse'd seen Chazz look that intense. jesse looked down at his hands and saw them relax as he focused on Chazz's words. He must've been clenching them, and he could feel his sweat on them, too. Those words repeated in his head as he forced himself to take a deep breath, listen to the water fountain behind them. It was then he noticed Ruby sitting on his lap, fixing a worried stare onto him. Was he really making everyone worry that much? He gave Ruby a soft pat on the head. Slowly, he calmed down. 

"Thanks, Chazz." Jesse shot him a weak smile. "I guess I needed to hear that."

"Whatever." Chazz waved him off, letting him go. "It was just weird seeing you act like that. It's not like you."

"Yeah, you're right. It ain't like me at all," Jesse agreed. He wasn't one to just lose confidence in himself or beat himself up over things like this, was he?

For a few minutes, the Chazz and Jesse settled into an uneasy silence. Chazz was staring off into space again, but Jesse caught him looking over at him here and there. Chazz was probably just making sure he didn't freak out over nothing again. But if Chazz was worried or concerned, he wasn't going to say it, and try not to even show it. Whether he was or not, Jesse was thankful. He'd helped whether he meant to or not. Jesse forced himself to listen to the water fountain and watch all the duelists around them instead of his own thoughts. Ruby curled up in his lap, clearly still concerned.

Jesse wished he'd had the opportunity at Duel Academy to spend more time with Chazz, as well as Jaden's other friends. It didn't feel like he'd gotten to really know them at all.

"...Alright." Jesse poked Chazz's shoulder, trying to get his attention. Chazz's glare proved him to be successful. "Now it's your turn."

"What do you mean, 'my turn'?" Chazz demanded. "I thought we were done here. The freak's gone, and you stopped freaking out, so what else is there?"

"Aw, come on, Chazz!" Jesse beamed at him with the brightest grin he could manage. Chazz's expression turned more sour. "I opened up to you, so now you have to open up to me. It's only fair! Besides..." He trailed off with a soft chuckle before he continued. "I want to make sure you're really okay. That's why I came up out here...because I'm worried about you."

Chazz's hands clamped together into fists. "You're worried, huh? That's rich. There's no reason for you to care. I already told you, anyway, I'm fine."

"We're friends, Chazz," Jesse said. "That's plenty reason enough."

"Friends? Ugh, you..." Chazz rolled his eyes, but seemed to stop himself from saying anything else.

Jesse sighed. "You already listened to me. If there really is nothing wrong, it's fine. But you really looked like ya had something on your mind. Whatever it is, I'll listen if you want. You can even pretend I'm not here."

It was back to silence after that. Jesse smiled down at Ruby, who was now sound asleep in his lap. He really was glad he had Ruby with him, had all the Crystal Beasts with him. They knew him better than himself. They always had his back, and he really wouldn't be sitting there without them. And Chazz, too; Chazz was what drove him to duel in that last match, and Jesse wasn't sure if he could've won if he didn't have any friends here in Duel World. Jesse owed it to him to make sure he was okay. It didn't matter if Chazz said anything, or when. He'd talk when he was ready. 

"I lost." Chazz finally broke the silence, without being prompted.

"...You lost?" Jesse repeated.

"Yeah, I lost. Try to keep up, slacker," Chazz told him. "The Chazz shouldn't have had any problem winning that duel."

"Hey, Chazz, it's okay. That fella gave me a hard time, too. I nearly lost, and I probably would've without the Crystal Beasts." Jesse looked fondly down at Ruby for a moment, before looking back at Chazz again. "One duel doesn't determine the worth of any duelist."

Chazz snorted. "You can say that all you want, but it doesn't sting any less." 

"I can't understand if you don't tell me, Chazz," Jesse said softly.

They went back again to an uncomfortable silence. Jesse absentmindedly began to rub one of Ruby's ears, but his attention was still focused on Chazz. Chazz himself stared down at the ground, tapping a finger against his leg. A couple of minutes passed before Chazz was ready to continue.

"It's my brothers. The Princeton family." Chazz's face wrinkled up to look more annoyed than usual. "See, my entire life has always been laid out for me. They're like, the most important people when it comes to money and politics. They're the best. And they wanted me to be the best, too, but at dueling. It's nice not trying to figure out what you're going to do in life. I didn't get to choose for myself, sure, but I don't mind how things ended up. They wanted me to be the best, so they enrolled me into prep school and got me into Duel Academy."

"You didn't get to choose? Then...do you even like dueling, Chazz?"

"What kind of question is that, dweeb?" Chazz didn't even give Jesse a chance to answer before he went on. "Things were going great, I was top in the class. And then the Slifer Slacker showed up. He beat everyone in every duel, and he didn't even try. He probably could've made it into Obelisk in less than a year if he put some effort into class and actually cared about the ranking system. One thing lead to another, and I ended up losing to Jaden in a duel. On TV, which they paid for. Naturally, they saw me lose."

"How did that go?" Jesse asked.

"It was like I was practically spitting in their faces. I didn't just lose. They even gave me a deck of the best cards money could buy to use in the duel, and I refused." Chazz shifted to scratch an itch on his back. "They just didn't get it, you know? It's not about using the best cards, it's about being able to use the cards you have. I knew my deck so I used it. If I tried to use their cards, it would've been even worse. You went to North Academy, you should know about the real worth of cards. But anyway, I didn't use their cards, I lost on TV, and they ended up disowning me."

"Chazz..." Jesse took out his deck and stared at it. Disowned by his own family? "I can't even imagine." He'd went to North Academy too, but he couldn't remember any of this too well. What had he been doing around that time, sleeping the year away? 

"It's really not a big deal," Chazz told him. "We weren't that close to begin with. All they cared about was status and money, and I was still growing up. But that one duel ruined any chance I had of being any good in their eyes. We were able to move past it, but it took awhile. And they weren't the best family or anything, but they got me this far, you know? Duel Academy, prep school, that all costs a lot of money. So I still kind of owed it to them to try to go pro. I still kind of owed it to them to prove that they didn't waste their money on me after all."

"I see..." Jesse brought a hand up to his chin. The whole picture was getting a little clearer now. "So your brothers were the best in their fields, and they wanted you to be the top duelist right? So if you lost that duel..." He wasn't willing to keep talking. Saying it out loud felt like it would be proving Chazz's insecurities right. And that wasn't right; losing a duel wasn't going to make him think any less of Chazz.

Chazz was more than willing to finish for him. "Bingo. It means I'm not the best. It's been years, but I didn't change at all. I'm not good enough after all, and they wasted their money on someone who isn't worth it. Everything they said about me was right."

No, Jesse really couldn't imagine. But he could try, and do his best to see where Chazz was coming from. The Crystal Beasts would never turn their backs on him. But if they did, he wasn't sure how he'd be able to deal with that. He probably wouldn't be able to. The thought itself was so devastating, that Jesse was surprised to see how externally calm Chazz was. This was way worse than what'd been bugging him, and yet Chazz wasn't freaking out at all. Just...staring bitterly off at the Duel School. 

"Hey, Chazz? Listen to me." Jesse shifted to sit in front of him. He placed his free hand on Chazz's shoulder, his other hand still holding his deck. Chazz seemed uncomfortable with the sudden contact, but didn't make a move to stop him. (As soon as Jesse moved, Ruby disappeared from his lap.) "I know they're your brothers and all, but families are more than just who you're connected to by blood. Family's about who you choose to surround yourself with, the people you let into your life. I ain't related to the Crystal Beasts in any biological sense, but they're still my family. I'm sure your Ojamas consider you to be their family."

"Ew, those freaks? No thanks," Chazz mumbled. Jesse was sure he didn't mean that.

"They don't care that you lost that duel or any duel, I guarantee it. And all our pals at Duel Academy? They don't either. You're still The Chazz. Your worth as a person has nothing to do with your duel record, I don't care what your brothers say. And I'm sure you've changed, too. You care about your cards and you know there's more to them than attack or defense points. I'd reckon that's way more important than how many duels you've won."

For a few seconds, Chazz couldn't reply. All he seemed able to do was stare at Jesse, stunned. His mouth moved soundlessly, until he could get himself to speak. "That...was the lamest thing anyone's ever said to me. You've out-lamed every slacker out there."

"I..." Jesse shuffled backwards, eyebrows raised. "I'm sorry?"

"Whatever. I must be pretty lame, too, because your lame speech actually worked." Chazz pushed himself off the ground and stood up, offering his hand to Jesse. Jesse took it and stood up as well. "You know what's even lamer? We've both been here for a week, and we still haven't dueled each other. I think it's time we fixed that."

"You really wanna duel, Chazz?" Jesse asked.

"Only if you're up for the challenge, Jesse Anderson."

"In that case, I accept your challenge, Chazz Princeton!"


End file.
